The Mystery of the Missing Pint
by CorkyBookworm1
Summary: It all starts with the Hair Cuts! A young Nancy, Bess, George, Frank, and Joe silly story. It's just a quick ice cream mystery.
1. Hair Cuts

**Okay, so this is just a little side project that WILL NOT leave me alone until I write it. Ever had that happen to you? Well, it's a 'little' ND story. And I think that the HB will show up... still in the writing process... Let me know if you like it. It's not my usual thing, so I NEED ENCOURAGEMENT or...criticism, whatever works...Enjoy!**

**The Mystery of the Missing Pint**

**Chapter one: Hair Cuts**

"Noooooooo!" the blonde headed Bess Marvin screeched as she was drug to the chair, "I don't waaannna! Mama, don't make me!"

"Bess! This is unacceptable behavior! Now, get in the car," Mrs. Marvin tugged at her seven year old daughter's left arm.

The girl burst into tears, no longer fighting her mother. Mrs. Marvin dragged the girl to the driveway. "Now, you're going to be with Hannah. I want you to be on your best behavior, do you understand me?"

Bess hung her head in defeat. She whimpered a little and then did her best to dry up, "But Mama, why do I have to?"

"Because I said so, Dearest," Mrs. Marvin took the end of her shirt and wiped Bess's tearstained face, "You've got to get your summer pictures taken, so that I can send them out to all your relatives. They like to see recent pictures of you very much, and I want you to get a hair cut for those pictures. It's summer, and it'll just make you hot being that long."

Bess fingered her long, soft, blonde hair. She had natural banana curls, and she really, really didn't want to get it cut. She'd been growing it out!

"But I _like_ my hair like this, mama," she said in a small voice. In one last, vain attempt the small girl jutted out her lower lip. She stood, silently awaiting her final judgment.

"You're going," her mother whispered, smiling.

Hannah Gruen's car pulled up to the side of the road. The passenger window rolled down, and Nancy Drew's smiling face appeared. "Are you ready, Bess?" Bess's best friend bounced up and down with excitement, "We've already got George."

It was hard for Bess to keep a frown for long around her two best friends, but this time she was in too damp a mood, "I suppose…" She heaved a deep breath.

Mrs. Marvin kissed the top of Bess's head, "Hannah has arranged for you and George to stay the night at Nancy's…if you're good."

Bess looked up hopefully. A small smile played at her lips, "Really?"

"Really," her mother chuckled, "Now get in…and have fun."

Bess hopped into the backseat beside her dark haired cousin. George Fayne had curly hair too, but it was curly in ringlets, not like Bess's. George's hair was just past her shoulders and Bess's was down to her waist, when she brushed it out.

George and Bess were very different. Bess always liked to play with makeup and daydream about boys. On the other hand, George liked to bake mud pies and dig for worms. Despite their many differences, the girls had a lot in common. They were the best of friends. Nancy was the girl in-between. She liked to do just about anything. She was very adventurous and outgoing. Somehow, trouble always found her, and she never seemed to mind. She tucked her reddish-blonde hair behind her ear. It was down to the middle of her back, unruly, and stick straight. All three girls were seven years old and had just finished the third grade at the River Heights Primary School.

"Bess, why so down?" Hannah, Nancy's housekeeper, asked. She was in her early thirties, an avid cook, and always cheerful. The slightly plump woman did her best to cheer the small girl.

"Because I don't want to cut my hair," she admitted in a small voice, unsure what her peers would think.

"Oh, Bess," Nancy tried to turn around in her seat, but Hannah shook her head no. "There are all _kinds_ of cool hairstyles that you can get!

"Yeah?" she didn't know that. She'd always just got her hair cut, never styled.

"Oh yeah, Bess!" George encouraged. She'd known that Bess was completely against the whole hair cut idea. "You can…" she rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, trying to think of different possibilities, "Uh, you could get a buzcut! Oh, that would be neat!"

Bess pinched her nose up in disgust. She emitted an unpleasant noise.

"Not helping, George," Nancy said flatly, "You can get your hair pulled up in a sparkly pin."

"Is that true?" Bess asked Hannah.

"Yes, or you can get it straightened like Nancy's, or curled in a different way, or braided, or anything you want. There're books that you can look at to help you decide, and you don't have to go first. Nancy or George will go, so that you have time to look for what you want, and so that you can watch them…if you want."

Bess perked up, "I want to straighten it and pin some of my hair back in a glittery clip! Can I do that?"

"Yeah," Nancy smiled, "I brought you the most sparkly, glittery, silvery barrette that I could find in the whole wide world!"

"Ooh, for me!" Bess squealed as Nancy handed the hastily wrapped package to her friend.

"I wrapped it myself," she said proudly, "Here, George, I brought you a present too."

"It's not 'sparkly and glittery' is it?" George stuck out her tongue.

"Nooo," the red-head laughed.

"Oh, cool! It's the calculator with Wolverine on it!" George's face lit up as she opened her gift.

"I hope you like them," Nancy blushed, "I've been saving my allowance for _three_ weeks to get them for you."

"We're here," Hannah pulled to a stop.


	2. Mind Made Up

Chapter two: Mind Made Up

"Jane, how are you?" Hannah stepped into the air-conditioned hair salon. Jane's River Cuts was the local place to get a trim. The shop was owned and run by Jane Gotto. She was about twenty eight with brown hair and hazelnut colored eyes. Her hair was mid-back length and straight. She usually kept it down, but while she was working, she always put it up.

Hannah had known Jane since she was born. Hannah had babysat her when she was younger. The girl's mother had passed away a few years ago, but her father was still a good friend of Hannah's.

"Hannah! What a delight to see you again," the young woman beamed. She bent down to face the three children in her salon, "And are you all ready for your hair cuts?" Bess still seemed somewhat nervous and unrelenting. Jane saw. She smiled, "Who wants to go first?" She turned to Nancy, "I'll bet you do." Nancy giggled. She loved coming to see Ms. Jane. Ms. Jane always knew what to say and what to do. She was such a fun person, and sometimes, she even gave them lollipops!

"Yes, I do. Can I have the cover with the keys on it again?"

"Of course," Jane patted the chair, "Hop up here. I'm going to make you tall." She pumped the chair up until Nancy's feet were unable to touch the floor. Jane went to her box of plastic covers. She pulled out one that was navy blue with scattered silver keys all over it. It was Nancy's favorite. Jane buttoned the cover around the red-head's neck.

"Now, what am I doing with your beautiful hair today?" Jane asked.

"Can you cut it so that it's only an inch or so past my shoulders?" Nancy asked after a minute of thinking.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Jane smiled and went straight to work. She chatted pleasantly with Hannah and the girls. She asked about when they were starting school. She asked about their summer, and what they had been doing on their vacation. Soon, Nancy was finished and George sat in the chair. George wanted her hair cut short.

"How short?" asked Jane as she buckled a new slip around the girl's neck.

"A buzzcut!" George said excitedly. Jane's face looked to Hannah in surprise.

"No, dearest," Hannah chuckled, "You're mother said that it can only be as short as your ears." George's face fell. She puckered out her lower lip, crossed her arms, and glared sternly at the floor.

Just then, a man walked into the salon. He had white hair and walked with a cane. Jane looked up, smiling brilliantly when she saw who it was. "Daddy!" she rushed over to kiss his cheek.

The man smiled, "How's my baby girl?"

"I'm doing fine. How are you this morning?" she walked back over to George.

"I'm excellent. Oh, now," he looked to George with a concerned expression, "Why so sad?"

George looked up at the man. A tear slipped down her cheek, but she remained silent. She whipped her nose on her sleeve.

"Oh, George," Bess came to her cousin's side, "don't feel bad. You can still cut it short…just not as short as you'd like to."

Hannah said to Mr. Gotto, "George wants to cut her hair as short as she can get it. Unfortunately, her mother doesn't want it too short."

"Oh, dear," the man said. He crouched down next to George, "Why, you should like your hair while you still have it. Look at mine." He showed her the balding spot on the top of his head, "I don't have any hair to cut!" George chuckled at that. "Deary, you have beautiful, dark hair. I think it looks very nice. It would be a waste to cut all that off."

A smile cracked on the small child's face. A rosy blush warmed her little cheeks. "You really think so?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed, "I like your hair very much."

Nancy laughed, startling those in the room. She walked up to George and Bess, "This is so funny. You two should switch places!" She turned to Mr. Gotto to explain, "Bess really doesn't want to cut her hair, but her mom is making her; and George _does_ want to cut her hair, but _her_ mom won't let her!" Nancy never had been one to shy away from strangers. She had always been a brave one.

"That is ironic," the man smiled at the girl standing before him, "What about you? Are you getting yours cut?"

"I already did, silly!" Nancy smiled, spinning around so that her hair would fly out around her.

"Come on, George, what do you say?" Jane smiled reassuringly at the girl.

George turned to Bess, "I guess I know how you feel now." Bess squeezed her cousin's hand. The two were as close as sisters if not closer. George looked in turn to all of those in the room. Nancy nodded her encouragement as George looked her way.

"Alright," George said after a moment of thought. She looked up at Jane, "Will you cut it to where I can still put it into a ponytail, but not a long one?"

Jane winked at George, "Coming right up." She spun the girl around and pumped the chair up to make her taller. As Jane went to work on George, the others all sat: Nancy next to Bess, and Hannah aside Mr. Gotto.

"Thankyou for your help," Hannah said to Mr. Gotto.

"No problem," he smiled in return, "I love dealing with younger children. They fascinate me." The two chatted as Nancy and Bess played in a corner of the salon.

Bess's hands started shaking a little while she pushed the Barbie car around in circles. Nancy looked at her friend, "It'll be okay." She smiled. Nancy went back to playing, trying her best to distract her friend. She pushed the Ken doll around and let Bess pick out the new dress for Barbie to buy. She even made funny barking noises, pretending to be the Barbie dogs in the park. Finally, George was done.

Jane walked over to Bess. She sat in the floor next to the girls. "Bess," she said, "have you decided what you want to do with your hair?" Bess looked down. "Bess, I can do whatever you want me to, as long as your mother will allow it. She said that I have to cut it at least two inches shorter, though."

Bess quietly got into the chair without complaint. George smiled at her. It was her turn to be the comforter now. George thought of something to say, "I love my cut, Bess. It isn't as short as I thought I wanted, but you know, I think I like this even better. You'll love yours, I just know it!"

Bess whispered into Jane's ear. "Are you sure that's what you want?" Jane asked.

"I've got my mind made up," Bess said. Jane nodded her head, and set to work.


	3. Lots of Friends

**So sorry that it's taken this long to update, really I am. I have no excuse other than being utterly swamped. I do wish to mention that 99% of the time I keep to the "Nancy's mother died when she was 3" thing, but I just couldn't resist for this story... :-D!**

**Chapter three: Lots of Friends**

**"**Bess, it's darling!" Mrs. Marvin admired her daughter's new hair cut. It was just off her shoulders, straightened, and part of it was pinned back in her new silver clip. Bess had decided to take Hannah's advice and had done just as she had said she wanted in the car.

"Mom," Bess said, "You said that if I was good I could stay the night with Nancy. George is going to. It'll be a sleepover party! Oh, can I go, pleeeeaaasssssseeee?"

Mrs. Marvin laughed, "Of course, dear. Just let me gather your things, and I'll take you right over."

Bess was bubbling with excitement. She couldn't wait to have fun with her two best friends! When she arrived at Nancy's house, she was surprised to see that George wasn't the only other guest.

"Nancy? How many of us are staying the night?" Bess drug her princess pink sleeping bag through the Drews's yard and onto the porch.

"Well, let's see," Nancy pointed to their friends as she called out their names, "There's Ned, George, you, me, Deirdre, Brenda, and two others are coming later. It's a surprise. Well, that's what Daddy told me. I don't know who they are yet."

"Wow, that's," Bess looked skyward as she counted in her head, "eight of us?"

Nancy nodded her head, "I know, isn't it great!"

Just then George walked up. She didn't look to happy. Bess asked very concerned, "What's the matter, George?"

"Deirdre and Brenda are making fun of me. It wouldn't bother me if they hadn't been talking about you guys too."

"What did they say?" Bess asked, curious.

"Don't tell us," Nancy said, "Bess, it'll just make us upset. George, whatever they said it isn't true. We just need to ignore them, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," George mumbled.

"Well, I want to know what they said," Bess's stubborn side was beginning to show through, "Go ahead, tell me. It won't upset me."

"Bess…" Nancy warned.

"They said that Nancy was just a nosy, no it all red head…and they called you a snobby, goody goody two shoes blondie that couldn't think for yourself."

Tears welled up in Bess's eyes. Her bottom lip began to pouch out and quiver. Nancy took her friend and swallowed her in a reassuring hug. "It's okay, Bess. They don't know what they're talking about. You're incredibly intelligent and not at all snobbish. You're sweet and you should consider 'goody two shoes' a compliment, in my opinion."

"Yeah," George chimed in, "Besides they're both gossip-obsessed, bubble-headed, glamour-lacking, drama-"

Nancy shot George a look, "George, we shouldn't lower ourselves to that standard. Just because they called us names, doesn't mean we should call them names back."

"Yeah," George sighed, "You're right. I know that. It's just…It's just that…Why have they got to be so mean? Don't they know that their words hurt?"

"No, they don't take that into account, George," Nancy's mother squatted next to the group. She had overheard some of the conversation and come to give her advice, "They only say things like that because they don't feel included. They want to fit in with you all, but don't feel like they can."

"So they put us down?" Nancy asked confused.

"Well, in order to make themselves feel good, it's the only thing they know to do." Her mother responded.

"Why did you even invite them?" Bess whimpered.

"Mom made me," Nancy answered, "Believe me, if it were my choice, I wouldn't have." Nancy stuck her tongue out at the two rich girls who stood across the yard whispering and snickering.

"Oh, Nancy," Elizabeth Drew scolded, "Now that's not nice at all. I made you invite them because they have no friends and I thought that they might enjoy staying the night. You should all make a special effort to include them. Maybe if you all make friends with them, you'll find that they aren't so mean after all."

"I doubt that," George snorted and crossed her arms.

Mrs. Drew just gave them all a look and strode off.

"I'll be nice if you all will," Bess said, her tears drying. The other two pinkie promised to do the same. The whole group decided to do their best to live out sticks and stones.

The three friends went into the kitchen to meet up with Ned. Deirdre and Brenda followed smiling confidently at the world.

"Ned!" Bess and George ran up to the blonde, blue-eyed boy that stood aside the kitchen counter. Nancy waved at him from behind. She had already greeted him.

"Hey guys, how goes it with you all?" he smiled. Ned and Bess were in the same class this year. George, Nancy, Deirdre, and Brenda were in a different class together.

"Good, and you?" George asked.

"Fine. Ooh, my parents said that we're going on a surprise vacation this spring! I'm so excited."

"I wonder where it is," Deidre said suspiciously as she walked by him. Deirdre and Brenda both had a huge crush on Ned, but he wasn't quite into girls just yet. At least, not them. The group conversed for ten minutes before Carson walked in.

"Daddy!" Nancy squeeled. She ran and jumped into his arms.

He picked her up and swung her around in a circle, "How's My Pumpkin?"

"I thought you were going to work tonight?" she asked when he set her down.

"Nope," he smiled, "Well, I will be working, but from my office here. So if you need anything just come on in. But right now, I've got an errand to run. I'll be back after a while." He kissed the top of his daughter's forehead, waved to the other children, and then left.

Hannah walked into the kitchen with a large tray of milk and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. "I don't have anyone to eat all of these cookies for me. I'm too full. Oh what will I do?" She walked into the living room, chased by yelling children, and set the tray on the coffee table. "Don't make a mess!" She smiled as she headed back into the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.


	4. Compromising

**I apologize for the slowness of the posting of this story. I will do my best to get it rolling. It's only intended to be a fun little fluff of a mystery- with little kid drama of course! So, please bear with me and let me know if you like it or not. ;-D Also, if I haven't already, I would like to mention that I am making a rare exception in allowing Nancy's mother to take part in this story. In any other situation, I wouldn't let her take part- living- unless Nancy was less than three years old. Nancy's mother died when she was three, and I'd like to stay as close to the original storyline as possible with facts like that. I just decided that I would be nice in this story, so… **

**Chapter four: Compromising**

After the children had finished all of Hannah's cookies, they ran around outside playing all sorts of tag. First they played Freeze Tag and then they played Cartoon Tag. They played Chinese Freeze Tag and Hide and Go Tag. Neither of them wanted to get sweaty or dirty, so Deirdre and Brenda played as the referees for each game. They called the arguable shots- with bias opinions of course.

Soon, the children became tired and all voted in favor of a break. It was a warm day, so they all piled into the air-conditioned kitchen searching for Hannah. The housekeeper was sitting at the table. As the children swamped her in pleas for lemonade, the woman chuckled and shooed them into basement where they were all to sleep that night.

"I'll make a large pitcher of iced lemonade just for you, my munchkins. You all set out your sleeping bags and pillows so that you won't have to tonight," Mrs. Gruen shook her head and headed back up the stairs. After brining down a tray of lemonade, Hannah walked over to the television that sat in one corner of the furnished basement. She looked in the closet and pulled out several videos. "Children, would you like to watch a movie?"

"Hannah," George said, "Can we wait until it gets dark?"

"Yeah, we still want to play outside!" Ned added.

"Eww, no," Brenda squealed, "We should stay inside and watch something."

"But why not wait?" Bess turned to her, "We can always watch a movie, but we can't go outside after it gets dark. Shouldn't we play outside while we can?"

"What other games could we possibly play?" Deirdre stepped up behind Bess, "We've already played tag and Freeze Tag and Chinese Freeze Tag and-"

"Yeah," George interrupted, "but we could play Hide and Go Seek or we could have a scavenger hunt or we could play Cops and Bad Guys or, ooh, how about we-"

"Ughh!" Brenda said.

"Booorrring!" Deirdre rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, do you have any _fun_ suggestions?" Brenda added, her hand on her hip.

"We could dress up and play a pretending game," Bess tried to helpfully suggest, "Ned and George could be firefighters and I can be a princess and Nancy can be a detective and you guys can be reporters." Nancy smiled at Bess's effort to make things work out for everyone. Despite how she felt about the two girls, Bess had been the better person and played nice. George wasn't as inclined to be nice. She had been about to suggest that they dig for worms and make mud pies. George only restrained herself for Bess's sake. Bess was rising above Brenda and Deirdre's remarks as of earlier, and George had enough sense not to tamper with the fragile line that she was attempting to form.

"That is _the_ stupidest game idea that I have _ever_ heard," Brenda retaliated, "Who puts firefighters and princesses in the same story, really? You couldn't come up with anything better than that? How pathetic."

"Now, I think I've heard quite enough!" Hannah stepped in, "Brenda, you should apologize to Bess. That was very cruel and uncalled for. She was simply doing her best to accommodate everyone. If you disagree with her idea, you need to try suggesting your own."

"But I did!" Brenda whined, "I want to stay inside and watch something. It's hot outside!"

"Brenda," Ned said, "We'll give a little if you'll give a little. We need to compromise, all of us."

"That's right, Ned, very good," Hannah said, "I'm impressed. You should all sit down and come up with a game that everyone will enjoy playing. You can even make up a game if you put your minds to it. Now, play nice. I have to go to the store for dinner. I'll be back soon. If anyone needs anything, Elizabeth is in her garden." With that she turned to ascend the stairs.

"Okay…" Deirdre sighed, "So, what do we do?"

"Well," Nancy said, "You guys want to play inside and we want to play inside. We could make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Ned asked.

"What if we play inside today, because it's so hot out now, and we play outside in the morning before it gets too hot out?" George suggested.

"We don't have to stay inside for all of today," Brenda added, "We could just stay inside for a few hours and then go back out before it gets too dark, but after the sun starts to go down, when it's not as hot anymore."

"That sounds reasonable," Nancy smiled, "Now we're getting somewhere."

"So we'll play inside for now," Bess said, "but what will we play?"

"Okay," Deidre said, "Hannah said both sides should give a little, so that everyone would be happy. You guys gave up the outside, so now it's our turn to give something up."

"We don't have to watch a movie now," Brenda said, "We can play something a little more…active, if that's what you guys want."

"Why don't we all say something that we like to do?" George thought allowed, "We can use that to decide what to play."

"I like to dress up in pretty clothes," Bess said, smiling.

"Me too," Deirdre took Bess's hand, smiling too.

"I like to pretend I'm a pirate!" Ned charged the air with a pretend sword, "Ha ha, take that!"

"Well, I like to be in charge," Brenda said simply.

George laughed, "When I'm outside, I like to hike, but when I'm inside I like to take things apart and put them back together."

"You're turn, Nancy," Bess said.

"I like solving puzzles," Nancy shrugged, "but what can we do that involves puzzles, dressing up, playing pirate, being in charge, and taking things apart and putting them back together?"

"Maybe," Deirdre's eyes lit up as she spoke, "Ned can dress up as a pirate, Bess and I can dress up as pretty lady pirates, Brenda can be the captain, George can be the ship's engineer, and Nancy can be…" She thought really hard, "Oh, I suppose we can't play. I don't know what Nancy can do."

"We can make it a treasure hunt!" George said excitedly, "and the puzzle is where the treasure is! Nancy can be the one to hold the treasure map. It's perfect Deirdre."

"Oh, not so perfect," she looked down, "Who's going to hide the treasure? It can't be one of us. It wouldn't be fun that way."

Just then Nancy's mom walked down the stairs, "I'll hide your treasure for you."


	5. Treasure Hunt

**I would like to note to those of you who are reading A Misty Mystery: 1)thank you for reading AMM 2)thank you for reading other stories as well and 3) the house setup for this story is the same as in AMM(specifically described around Ch. 5 of AMM). The guest room is Misty's room. **

**Chapter five: Treasure Hunt**

She didn't say it, but Elizabeth had been listening in since Hannah left. She was overwhelmed with pride for the children. They had all worked together to solve their problem. She wanted to reward them for it, and she knew how to do just that! "I'll tell you what," she knelt beside Nancy, kissing her forehead, "I'll hide the secret treasure and draw a map to lead you to it."

"What's the treasure going to be?" Ned asked.

"That will be a surprise. You'll have to find it to figure it out," Elizabeth smiled, "Now, you all get what you need to be pirates while I go draw your map and hide your treasure."

Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth brought down a small chest and a rolled up piece of tan colored construction paper. "I'm going to go hide this chest now. Here is your map, but you can't open it until I'm ready for you to, okay?" All the children nodded their heads eagerly. Mrs. Drew walked back up the stairs and closed the door behind her.

Nancy and her guests rushed about finishing their costumes for their game. Ned had found a pirate hat in Nancy's dress up box, an old glow-stick sword in her toy box, and a pile of bandanas in her dresser. Nancy put a new glow stick in his sword for him. George took the blue bandana, Ned the purple one, Brenda the red one, and Bess the pink one. Bess and Deirdre wrapped themselves in shawls that were in Nancy's dress up box. Nancy found an old pair of high heels that her mother had given her to play with and some toy jewelry in her jewelry box. Deirdre picked the high heels and ruby ring while Bess picked the necklace and matching bracelet. George searched through Nancy's toy box. She found a toy tool kit and an old clock that had run out of batteries. She planned to use the tool belt to repair the imaginary ship and the small clock as a compass. Brenda used Nancy's foam sword and brown vest to mark her position as captain of the ship. Nancy put the small, plastic magnifying glass that her father had given her for her last birthday in her belt. Then she found a mostly blank notepad and a dark blue gel pen to keep her notes in. She tore out an old picture of a butterfly that she had drawn a week ago. Carefully, she placed the picture on her dresser. She was saving it as a present for her mother.

"Now we're ready," Nancy beamed.

"As soon as your mom comes back down, we can start, right?" Deirdre asked.

"Yup! And here she comes!" Nancy bounced to the stairs, waiting for her mother to get to the bottom.

"Wow," Elizabeth smiled, "You all look like fearsome pirates. I'm very frightened!"

"We're not fearsome pirates, mom!" Nancy giggled.

"What does fearsome mean?" Brenda asked.

"Fearsome means terrifying or frightening," Nancy's mother answered, "If you're not fearsome pirates then what are you?"

"_I__'__m_ a fearsome pirate!" Ned announced with another slash of his sword.

"_We__'__re_ friendly pirates," Nancy laughed.

"Oh," Ned said, "I could do that too." He smiled, "Yeah, we're the friendliest pirates that anyone ever met!"

"Alright, let's go get that treasure!" George headed up the stairs.

"Wait!" Bess called, "George, we haven't opened the map yet. We don't even know where to go." She turned to Nancy's mother, "You said not to open the map until you were ready for us to."

"That's right I did, Bess. You're a very good listener," she smiled, "You can look at the map now. Here is the list of instructions and clues to follow." She handed Nancy another tan colored piece of construction paper, "Now go find that treasure."

The six children raced up the stairs and into the hallway. They stopped outside Carson's study to look at the map. Nancy held the map; consequently, everyone crowded in a circle around her.

"Okay," she read from her list of instructions, "First it says 'Start in the kitchen, facing the living room.' So let's go to the kitchen." The children ran around the house following instructions, counting and recounting paces, searching for answers to simple riddles, and facing imaginary sea monsters and Cyclopes. George had to repair the mast after a terrible storm, Brenda had to settle a dispute between Bess and Ned over the color that they should choose for their pirate flag, and Deirdre had to help Nancy hold the map while Nancy wrote in her journal. They laughed and rolled on the floor.

Hannah returned from the store and shook her head when she learned of what had gone on without her. She smiled to herself as she handed a brown paper bag to Elizabeth. Together the women put away the groceries and started to prepare dinner.

The phone rang and Elizabeth went to the hallway to pick it up, "Drew residence, how may I help you?"

"Hello, sweetheart," Carson answered, "I should be on my way home very soon with our guests."

"Oh, good," Elizabeth answered, "Then you'll be back in time for dinner?"

"Yes, we should."

"Does Nancy know that you're bringing some more friends for her to play with?"

"Yes, but I didn't tell her who. I told her it was a surprise. I thought it might be easier to explain once they had arrived."

"Alright, I won't say anything to her. I'll make sure to set out an extra four places for dinner."

"Good. How are the children getting along?"

"Oh wait until you hear about the pirate game. You'll be most impressed. Presently, however, I need to return to dinner so that our guests aren't disappointed upon your arrival."

"Disappointed?" Carson sounded amazed, "with you and Hannah in charge of the cooking? Impossible!"

"Alright, honey," Elizabeth laughed, "I love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart. Bye." Carson hung up the phone and went about his business. Elizabeth returned to the kitchen to finish up dessert.

"Was that Mr. Drew?" Hannah asked as she expertly chopped fresh cilantro.

"Yes. He said he'll be here in time for dinner with our guests. I told him I'd set out four more places. The adults can eat at the table, but I think that the children should eat in the living room tonight. There are simply too many of them," she laughed pleasantly.

Hannah chuckled, "If you can tend to the soup, I'll go make up the guest room." Elizabeth nodded and began to slice the potatoes. Hannah made her way to the guest room, which was next to Nancy's room. All the children would sleep in the basement, Elizabeth and Carson in their room, and Hannah in her room downstairs. Hannah made up the guest bed, listening as the children's calls wafted up to her.

Nancy yelled in excitement, "We found it! See it? There's the treasure chest!"

"Where, I don't see it?" George asked.

"I see it!" Brenda gazed through her pretend telescope. She handed it to George, pointing to the brown chest.

"There it is. You're right. It's," George's face twisted up in confusion, "on top of the fridge?"

"Yeah, Let's go get it!" Ned suggested. They all walked into the kitchen. Hannah was stirring the homemade clam chowder that she was making. Elizabeth had walked into another room for a minute.

"We went in circles for hours," George said, "And it was in the room we started in the whole time."

"That's kind of funny!" Deirdre laughed. Soon all six kids were chuckling at the thought.

"If we had found it right off the bat it would have saved us a lot of trouble," Brenda said.

"But we wouldn't be able to say that we had defeated the sea monster and the giant Cyclops and the fire breathing dragon and the griffon and all the other bad guys," George pointed out.

"Yeah, and we wouldn't have met the beautiful fairy," Bess smiled at Deirdre, who had played the fairy.

"We did have fun, didn't we?" Brenda agreed, "Well after all that hard work, I'm ready for the reward, but how are we going to get it down from there?"

"Aha," Nancy said, "The final puzzle."

"Let's try the stool," Ned suggested. The friends dragged the kitchen stool to the side of the fridge. "Who's going to get it down?" Ned wondered allowed.

"I should, I'm the captain," Brenda said smugly.

"I think Nancy should," Deirdre said, "Since she was in charge of the map."

"Wait," Nancy said, "Who's the tallest?" After much debating and standing back to back, they picked George. She stood on her tip toe, but still couldn't reach the chest.

"Now what?" Bess asked.

Nancy turned to Hannah, who had been inconspicuously watching them, "Hannah, can you help us? We aren't tall enough to reach the treasure chest." She pointed to the top of the fridge.

"Would you like me to lift one of you up?" she asked.

"Just a minute," Nancy held up a finger. She turned to her friends and conversed with them. Finally she turned back around to face Hannah, "We think you should get it because you're the best."

"Aw thank you," Hannah reached up and pulled down the chest. She handed it to the children.

They ran into the living room to pry it open.

"What is it?" asked Deirdre, who stood in the back.

"It's…" Ned pulled it out, "a piece of paper."


	6. Riddles

**Does anyone else follow this logic? Or is it just little kid logic? Did any of this make sense to anyone else? Or am I crazy? This intricate seven year old discussion just about fried _my_ brain, and I WROTE IT! ;-) **

**Chapter six: Riddles**

"Paper?" Brenda's face reddened.

"What's it say?" asked Nancy, taking the folded paper from Ned. She unfolded the page and read aloud, "It says 'You have reached the end of your quest. Congratulations on working together to find the treasure. There is one more part to this hunt: Find the origin of the treasure if you seek its pleasure.' That's all it says."

"It's another riddle," Bess said, "But what's the answer?"

"Isn't it obvious? The origin of the treasure is where we found the chest- the fridge," Brenda said.

"But that seems too easy," George said, "Let me see it, Nancy." Nancy handed her friend the note.

"The treasure's origin," Ned thought allowed, "is where the treasure is from. I think Brenda is right. The treasure was from the fridge."

"I don't trust that," Deirdre said, "George said it's too easy, and it does seem too easy. If the treasure had been on the fridge, why wouldn't it be in the chest?"

"It makes sense that it would be the fridge, but it does seem too obvious of an answer," Bess said.

"But what else could it be?" asked Ned.

"What do you think the answer is, Nancy?" George asked.

Nancy had her thinking face on. She concentrated on the wooden, living room floor. She began to pace between the front door and the coffee table, mumbling. "The origin…the origin…the origin…" she repeated over and over. "Find the origin of the treasure if you seek its pleasure," she put the pieces into words, hoping that something would click, "We started in the kitchen, and we finished in the kitchen. The treasure chest was on top of the fridge the whole time…or was it?" She looked up, smiling. Her friends looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Brenda asked.

"Where did we start our game?" Nancy asked, hands behind her back. She stood confidently, feet apart and chin up, in front of her semi-circle of friends.

"In the kitchen, like you said," George said.

"No," Nancy held up a finger, "Look at the first part of the note. Bess read it again for us."

George handed Bess the note and Bess read, "From the beginning it says 'You have reached the end of your quest. Congratulations on working together to find the treasure. There is-"

"Stop," Nancy said.

"What about it?" Ned asked, "Are you saying that's part of the riddle too?"

"No," Nancy said, "but doesn't the second sentence…remind you of anything?" All the friends shook their heads. "We started our quest in the basement!" Nancy burst, "The note says 'Congratulations on working together' It's talking about when we compromised to find a game that we would all like to play. We 'reached the end of our quest' when we worked together to make up the game and find the chest. Now to find the treasure we have to work 'together to find the treasure'."

"So the treasure is in the basement?" asked Deirdre.

"No," Nancy smiled again, "We didn't start in the kitchen; we started in the basement. We didn't end in the kitchen; we will end where the origin of the treasure is."

"I don't understand," Bess said.

"The origin is where something is from," Nancy explained, "Where did the treasure start?"

"The top of the fridge," Ned answered.

"Wait," Brenda said, "Now you're talking in riddles, Nancy."

"Nancy asked us where we started our game," George thought allowed, "We answered the kitchen, but really the answer was in the basement. Now she's asking where the treasure started. We would answer by saying the kitchen again, but the answer is in the basement."

"George, what are you saying?" asked Deirdre, "How did the treasure start in the basement?"

"That doesn't even make sense," Ned added, "Treasure doesn't _start_."

Nancy smiled at George and nodded her head. George went on, "We made the treasure up when we made the game up…in the basement. So the treasure's origin is…in the basement?" She turned to Nancy.

"Close, very close," Nancy answered, "You're almost there. Keep thinking, George. Remember the rest of the note, the end of it."

Deirdre took the note from Bess and read, "'There is one more part to this hunt: Find the origin of the treasure if you seek its pleasure.' That's the last line."

"Okay we covered the first two lines earlier, now this line…" George thought.

"Don't forget the part about seeking 'its pleasure'," Nancy prodded.

"We are seeking its pleasure, aren't we?" asked Brenda.

"But, it means that there is pleasure to seek," Ned put together what Nancy and George had been saying, "So it's not just the treasure that we made up when we were making up the game. And it's not just the treasure of working together either. It's some_thing_."

"So where did the treasure come from?" asked Nancy.

"Let's retrace our steps," suggested Bess, "What happened first?"

"Brenda and I wanted to play inside," Deirdre said, "so we said that we would play an active game if we could play it inside."

"We all said something that we like to do," Ned added.

"And then we made up parts for everyone to play," Brenda said.

"And Deirdre couldn't think of a part for Nancy, so George said we should make it a treasure hunt so that there was a puzzle to solve, which is what Nancy said that she liked to do," Bess remembered.

"Deirdre pointed out that we couldn't let one of us hide the treasure, so then-" Nancy trailed off.

"Your mother!" George yelled, a wide and triumphant grin spreading from ear to ear, "Nancy's mother is the origin of the treasure. She must have it!"


	7. Guests

**Ooh, hoo, hoo, hoo!**

**Chapter seven: Guests**

Nancy raced into the kitchen, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! We figured it out. We figured out the origin of the treasure."

"And now we're here to enjoy its pleasure," Brenda smiled.

"Oh, yes?" Elizabeth knelt down.

"Yes," Nancy said, "_You__'__re_ the origin of the treasure. You came up with it and you hid it."

"You are all very clever," Mrs. Drew smiled, "The treasure is-" Hannah made a drum roll with two wooden spoons on the counter. The children smiled. "Ice Cream!" Mrs. Drew exclaimed.

The children squealed with delight, jumping up and down. They chanted over and over, "Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!"

"Now you'll have to wait until after dinner," Hannah shook her chowder spoon at the children.

They all moaned, "Awww!"

"Now gather around, children," Nancy's mother sat in a chair at the kitchen table, "I want to explain." Nancy climbed into her mother's lap. She sat on one knee and Bess sat on the other. George stood beside Nancy. The other three stood facing Mrs. Drew. "Today Bess, George, and Nancy went to get haircuts at Jane's salon. Jane's father stopped by as they were getting their cuts," she continued, "He said that he was soooo impressed by their behavior that he wanted to treat them to ice cream. He gave Hannah some money and told her to buy them and their friends all some ice cream. So, you each get one pint of ice cream all to yourselves." The children cheered loudly. "And," Mrs. Drew raised her voice to be heard over the screaming children, "I expect you all to make a thank you card for Mr. Gotto. I will give it to Jane tomorrow and she will see to it that he receives it."

"Yes Ma'am," they all chorused. Ned looked at Nancy's mother, "Can we see the ice cream? I mean I know that we can't eat it yet, but can we look at it…just for a second?"

Elizabeth laughed, "All right, but just for a second. You don't want it to melt." She took out eight pints of ice cream and placed them on the table. Four were Double Chocolate, one was Orange Sherbet, and three were Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia.

"I want Double Chocolate," Bess handed one to Mrs. Drew to return to the freezer.

"Me too," Deirdre handed another Double Chocolate to Nancy's mother. Soon all of the children had claimed the pint that they wanted. Nancy and George took Cherry Garcia while Brenda took the Orange Sherbet. Bess, Ned, and Deirdre took Double Chocolate. That left one Cherry Garcia and one Double Chocolate.

"Who are the other two for?" asked Ned, "There are three grown-ups, but only two more pints."

"Excellent observation, Neddie," Brenda smiled sweetly at him.

"None of the adults are going to eat ice cream," Nancy's mother said.

"Then why are there two extra pints?" asked Deirdre.

"For the two guests I have brought for you to play with, of course," Carson walked into the kitchen from the garage door. Following him were two more adults- one woman and one man. Hiding behind the woman's skirts was a blonde boy about the same age as the Nancy and her friends. Standing between his parents stood a dark-headed boy who looked curiously upon the group.


	8. Anything

**My goal is always to make you laugh (in this story)...so let me know if it works? REVIEW! ;-)**

**Chapter eight: Anything**

"I'd like you to meet the Hardys," Carson lifted his daughter up, setting her on his hip. She hid her face in his shoulder, but only for a moment.

"My name is Nancy and I'm seven," She smiled brightly, "It's very nice to meet you."

"It's very nice to meet _you_, Nancy," the woman beamed, "I'm Laura Hardy and this is my husband Fenton. He works with your father sometimes."

"She's adorable, Carson," Fenton smiled, "Just as you've always painted her."

"You talk about me at work?" Nancy turned to her father, hands on her hips, eyes squinting.

"Wha- I…I…" he stammered, feigning guilt.

"Now, won't you get into trouble if you're causing distractions and not doing your job? You should know better than that, Daddy," Nancy scolded. The adults in the room could only laugh in surprise.

"But you're all I can think about. You're my entire world," Carson kissed her head as soon as he could manage to breathe again.

"Well," Nancy said, "then I suppose it's alright…if you put it that way."

"Ahehhehhem," Elizabeth cleared her throat, "That's what you're supposed to tell _me_."

"Ooh, you're in trouble now," Nancy shook her head, "You made Mommy mad. That's a no-no." She wagged her finger at her father.

Carson was speechless as the room burst into giggles again.

"It looks like you've dug a pit for yourself, Carson," Fenton laughed.

"I suppose so," he chuckled in return, setting Nancy down.

"Laura, it's so good to see you," Elizabeth embraced Mrs. Hardy.

"Oh, you as well, Elizabeth, you as well," Laura returned the embrace.

"You're looking as good as ever," Fenton hugged Elizabeth.

"Thank you, Fenton. I trust you're doing well?" Elizabeth asked.

"Fine, thank you," he turned to the boys at his feet. "These are my sons. This is Frank, and this," he looked behind Laura to the still hiding blonde, "is my youngest, Joe."

"Hello boys, I'm Nancy's mother. Nancy is having a sleepover, and those are all her friends. I'm sure you will both have lots of fun with them. Would you like to go downstairs and play?" Mrs. Drew crouched down to meet their eyes.

Joe peered around his mother's skirt. When he saw all the other children, he quickly shook his head and hid behind his mother again.

Frank looked to Nancy's mother, "He's really shy of strangers."

"I see that," she looked thoughtful, "What can we do to change that?"

Nancy cautiously walked over to Joe, "My name is Nancy. I'm seven. Would you like to play with me?" He looked at her and shook his head. She tried again, "You can pick out the game that we play. We can play annnyyything that you want to."

He glanced at her, "Anything?"

She smiled and took his hand, "Anything."


	9. New Friends

**The Princess Bride is not mine- of course. And it is totally one of the most awesome movies EVER. I recommend anyone watch it! Let me know what you think of my portrayal of the little ND and HB characters. Do you see the older version of themselves in the younger kids? Do you see something different in them? Just curious…=-) **

**Chapter nine: New Friends**

The eight children went downstairs to the basement to play a short game while Hannah and Mrs. Drew finished up dinner. Mrs. Hardy stayed in the kitchen to help as much as she could. Mr. Drew and Mr. Hardy retired to the study to do some work.

"Okay, I think we should all introduce ourselves and tell about ourselves a little," Nancy proposed, "I'll go first. My name is Nancy Drew. My dad is a lawyer, I'm seven years old and I'm in Mrs. Miller's third grade class."

"I'm Bess Marvin. I'm in third grade, too. I'm seven and George is my cousin," Bess said.

"I'm Brenda Carlton, I'm eight, and I want to be a reporter when I get big."

"I'm Ned Nickerson. I'm seven and I'm in third grade. My dad has a press shop."

"I'm Deirdre Shannon. My dad has lots of money. I'm seven, in third grade, and I like things that sparkle."

"I'm George Fayne. I'm seven, in third grade, and…we'll I'll punch you in the nose if you ever call me Georgia!"

Frank looked at Nancy questioningly.

"She doesn't like to be called by her real name 'cause it's too girly. She likes stuff like baseball and hiking. She's a real tom boy," Nancy explained.

"Oh," he said, "My name is Frank Hardy. I'm seven and I'm in Mr. French's third grade class. Our dad's a private investigator. He says that we get into a lot of trouble, but we like to call it fun."

"What about you, Joe?" asked Nancy gently.

"My name is Joe Hardy. Frank is my big brother. I'm six and in second grade. I like going to my karate classes," the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy warmed up to the group quickly as they all became more acquainted. Soon, he was one of the more energetic and impulsive of the group. It turned out that Frank was the quieter of the two. He seemed calmer and more thoughtful. They both loved to run around and play. Brenda grew a special liking for them. She didn't feel as inclined to pester Ned anymore. Besides, he never responded to her dropped hints. These two were just as cute as Ned and new in town. Deirdre liked them too, but she wanted them to like her as well. So, she decided just to be herself and drop the 'mean, rich girl' pretence. It hadn't worked before with Ned, and she'd discovered that she'd had more fun when she played nicely. The other's had been nicer to her too when she had been nice, and she'd like that.

"It's time for dinner, children," Hannah said from the top of the stairs.

"Who's that?" asked Joe as they all piled into the hallway, heading for the delicious aroma of soup.

"That's Hannah Gruen. She's our housekeeper," Nancy answered, "She's a really good cook." The children ate their chowder sitting in an oval around the coffee table. They took special care not to make a mess, as instructed. Soon, they had all finished.

"Let's watch a show now," Bess said, "Can we?"

"If everyone's okay with that," Nancy nodded her head, "We can eat our ice cream out here while we watch it. I don't think we should take it downstairs."

Hannah came in with eight pints of ice cream and eight spoons. Frank picked the Cherry Garcia and Joe the Double Chocolate. "What do you children want to watch?" Hannah asked.

"A superhero movie!" Ned said.

"Yeah," Joe agreed, "Something with a lot of action in it."

"What about a fairy tale movie?" Bess asked, "With a romantic prince and a trapped princess?"

"We can't have both," George said, "So let's take a vote. All in favor of action, raise your hands."

George, Ned, and Joe raised their hands. "All in favor of a fairy tale raise your hands," Brenda instructed. Brenda, Bess, and Deirdre raised their hands.

"What about you guys?" asked Ned.

Nancy turned to Frank, "You can break the tie. I really don't care what we watch. That's why I didn't vote."

Frank asked, "Are you sure? I think you should decide. It's your house."

"Do you all want to watch a cartoon?" asked Hannah with a movie in mind, "or can it be a regular movie?"

"But there aren't any interesting movies that aren't cartoon movies," Ned said, sticking his tongue out at the idea.

"Oh, I think you will all like this one. It has adventure, danger, romance, and comedy in it."

"Are you _sure_ we'll like it?" asked Joe, squinting his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure," Hannah chuckled, "You all get settled and I'll bring it in."

Everyone who needed to went to the bathroom and everyone got a blanket to wrap up in. They all carried their pints of ice cream around with them. Some of them got pillows to share with those who didn't. Joe cuddled up with his white stuffed bunny named Snowball. When everything was ready and everyone was in place, they started the movie. Hannah had brought in The Princess Bride.

Nancy and her friends loved it. They laughed and held their breath in the suspenseful spots. They had to stop it a few times, so that someone could go to the bathroom. A few of the children put their ice cream back in the freezer to save for later. Hannah brought in popcorn for everyone to share.

Once the movie was over and the popcorn was gone, the friends migrated to the kitchen. Nancy placed the empty popcorn bowl in the sink. They decided to eat some more of their ice cream, so Deirdre stood on the stool and pulled out the tree pints that were in the freezer. "Here you go," she put two Cherry Garcia pints and one Double Chocolate on the table.

"Oh I left mine in the living room," Ned said.

"Mine's on the stove," Brenda said. She walked over to get it.

When Ned returned, he held two Double Chocolates, "Someone else left theirs in the living room too. This one's mine, though. I remember because I ripped the lid."

"Oh, the other one is mine," Deirdre said, "I had the only blue spoon."

"Mine was in the freezer," Bess said, "I put it back because my mouth got too cold."

"Mine never left my hands!" Joe said, almost to the bottom of his pint.

"That takes care of the chocolate ones," George said, "and Brenda's. Here's two of the cherry one's, but where is the third? I know I put mine in the freezer because I put Bess's away when I put mine away." She lifted the lid to both of the cherry pints, and then pointed to the one with more gone, "That one's mine. I took more than just a few bites."

"I ate more than that, too," Nancy said, "So it must be yours, Frank."

"Yeah, I only ate a little because I was too full after that clam chowder that Hannah made," Frank said, "but where is yours?"

"I thought I put it in the freezer," Nancy said. She climbed onto the stool and checked the freezer again, "I don't see it in here. I must have left it somewhere, but I don't know where." With a puzzled expression, she shut the freezer door and climbed down again.

"Another puzzle for us to solve!" Deirdre exclaimed, "I like solving puzzles."

"We do too," Frank said, looking at Joe, "In fact, that's how we get into so much trouble at home. We're always solving mysteries, especially at school."

"Nancy solves mysteries at our school," George said, "She's a pro at it."

"Yeah, there was this one mystery where a glue bottle was a clue," Bess said.

"I didn't know you liked to solve mysteries," Joe paused from his ice cream eating to look at Nancy. He smiled broadly, a new liking for the girl developing in him.

"Yeah," Nancy said shyly, "It's nothin' really…just a hobby."

Frank smiled at her modesty. She was probably a good detective and didn't want to admit it. "Well, now we can work together to solve a mystery," he said, trying to take the pressure off her, "The Mystery of the Missing Pint!"


	10. The Missing Pint

**Chapter ten: The Missing Pint**

"How exciting, we're playing detective," Brenda slid up next to Frank, "You know, I love to solve mysteries too. I've helped Nancy more than a few times in the past."

George rolled her eyes, mumbling, "More like helped hinder her."

"What'd you say?" Brenda glared.

"Nothing," George turned to Nancy, "So where do we start?"

"Bess, you and George look in the downstairs bathroom. Ned, you and Deirdre look in the living room again. Brenda, you look in the upstairs bathroom. Frank and Joe, will you look in the basement, just in case? I'll look around in the kitchen again," Nancy dolled out the tasks.

"Why don't I get a partner?" asked Brenda, "I don't want to go alone. I want to go with Frank and Joe."

"Okay, you go with Frank and Joe. _I__'__ll_ look in the upstairs bathroom and in here," Nancy said, "After everyone is finished, we meet back in here, got it?" Everyone nodded and ran off to look in their assigned areas.

Bess and George went to the bathroom beside Hannah's room. They looked on the sink counter and in the shower. They looked on the back of the toilet and even under the sink. "I don't see it," Bess said, "Do you?"

"Nope," George shook her head, "Maybe it's in the hallway." They searched the hallway. They even knocked on Hannah's door and searched her room, thinking that Nancy may have taken it in there. Finally they decided to return to the kitchen to meet up with the others.

Ned and Deirdre searched the living room. They looked on the coffee table and under it. They looked on and under the end tables. They searched behind couch and recliners, just in case. They looked by the rocker and next to the television. "Where was Nancy sitting during the movie?" Ned asked.

"She was the closest one to the window. I remember because she sat on my right, and there was no one on her right side," Deirdre answered. So, they looked under the cloth that covered the table near the window. It wasn't there either. "No one went on the porch, did they?"

Ned shrugged, "Someone might have. Maybe they took Nancy's ice cream on accident and left it out there." The two looked on the porch and in the garage. When they came up empty-handed, they went into the kitchen through the garage-kitchen door.

Brenda, Frank, and Joe searched the basement. They looked in the closet and around the toy boxes. They looked around everyone's pallets, thinking that someone covered it up when they were all getting blankets and pillows. "But she had it when we started the movie," Joe recalled, "So she didn't leave it down here then." They kept looking and didn't find it. As they climbed the stairs, they thought of where it could be.

"Let's search the hallway," Frank recommended. They looked on the table that the phone sat on. It wasn't anywhere near there. They came to Mr. Drew's study door.

"Should we knock and see if it's in there?" Brenda wondered.

"I don't think we should disturb Dad or Mr. Drew. Besides," Frank answered, "No one's been in there all night, out of us kids anyway." They walked into the kitchen to meet the others.

Nancy looked in the kitchen once more, searching through cabinets and on counters. It wasn't in the fridge and it wasn't in the trashcan. She finally decided to look upstairs. She looked in the bathroom and in her room, just in case. She looked in the hallway, but it wasn't there. "Hmm," she put her hands on her hips. As she heard her friends pile into the kitchen, she quickly made her way down to join them.

Everyone reported of their findings. No one had come across it. "I suppose we could ask Mom if she knows what happened to it, or Hannah," Nancy said. The children walked onto the back porch where sat Hannah, Mrs. Drew, and Mrs. Hardy. It was dark out, and the women were visiting while gazing at the stars.

"Mom," Frank said to Laura, "Nancy's pint of ice cream is missing. Have you seen it?"

"Missing?" asked Elizabeth, "What do you mean?"

"He means that we can't find it," George said, leaning into Hannah's lap, "anywhere."

"Did you eat it all?" asked Laura.

"No," Nancy shook her head, "I even looked in all the trash cans to make sure."

"Well, it couldn't have gone far," Hannah said, "Where all did you look for it?"

"We looked everywhere!" Bess exclaimed. Then the children all listed where they had looked.

"Oh dear," Elizabeth said, "It is missing, isn't it?"

"That's what we've been trying to tell you!" Nancy smiled.

"Will you help us find it?" asked Joe, sitting in his mother's lap.

"Of course," the three responded.

"Let's start in the kitchen," Laura said. When everyone was in the kitchen again, they all made another search throughout the house. They looked in all the rooms and on all the porches. They even looked in Carson's study. When Carson and Fenton heard of the mystery they were dumbfounded. Upon questioning, they answered that neither of them had eaten it. Despite their story of working hard all night, Joe wasn't so sure that he believed them. After all, they would easily be able to cover up the evidence, given their professions. And who can resist ice cream? They offered to let the group search the study, but the Cherry Garcia Pint wasn't there.

Finally, the children and women sat in the kitchen, with no answer. Elizabeth walked over to the freezer. Opening it up, she said, "I don't understand where it could have gone. We bought eight pints, one for each child. Now there're only seven."

"It's certainly the strangest thing I've ever hear of," Laura replied.

"Well, Nancy," Hannah said, joining Mrs. Drew, "You can have some of the vanilla ice cream in the box that we had before all of this started." Just as she pulled out the carton of vanilla, Elizabeth gasped. "What is it?" Hannah asked. "Oh my heavens!" she chuckled when she looked back.

"What?" asked the children.

"Your missing pint," pointed Nancy's mother.

The pint had been hiding behind the vanilla carton the whole time. Someone must have accidentally pushed it back while putting in their own. The children laughed at the funny ending to their mystery. Soon after, Laura, Hannah, and Elizabeth had to carry the tired children to their makeshift beds in the basement. They had worn themselves out solving the mystery of the missing pint.

The next day, Nancy said goodbye to all her friends except Frank and Joe, whose family was staying with her family for the next week. The other children promised that they would stop by and play with the three that stayed at the Drew residence. The week went by quickly and soon came the day that Nancy and her parents parted with the Hardy family. Nancy waved to her new friends from a window as the plane in the Chicago airport flew off. She turned to her parents and asked, "Can we stop by the store on the way home and get a pint of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream? I'm starving!"

**My second finished fanfic! My first of 'little' ND and HB. So, what did you think? I sort of felt that it ended abruptly, but I had no more to tell. I will say, if I haven't already, that the whole idea of the missing pint came from an event in my life. My sister and I went to get our hair cut with our grandmother while we were on vacation. Mrs. Robin is the lady that we always go to see when we visit our gma in the summer. Mrs. Robin's father was there and later gave Nana- our gma- a twenty dollar bill to get us some ice cream because he had been impressed by us. So, while we were chillin' at Myrtle Beach there were seven pints of ice cream- three for the kids(Bud, Bell, and me. Eli didn't like anything but vanilla, so we had a box of it in the freezer for him) and three for the adults (Gma, Gpa, and Mom). Well, as in this story, one of the Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia pints went missing. There were only five Cherry Garcia's and two chocolate ones (I don't remember what brand), so it made it kind of hard to find mine anyway 'cause I had taken a Cherry Garcia (best ice cream ever, by the way). Well, guess where my pint was? Yeah, behind Eli's box of vanilla. I felt really smart after that…but it's much cuter in the ND story, I think. I beefed it up a little. I hope you liked it! **

**Love always,**

**Corky!**


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